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...if the intro where they were talking about whatever they would do on the New Year they would be doing for the rest of the year meant anything then i guess Houtarou will be stuck with Chitanda for the rest of the year and maybe forever...
...guess that explains Houtarou's and Chitanda's New Year fortunes?

This episode has nothing much to talk about but it's fun to watch. This time around they have to do an inverse process: making a mystery for the others to solve. I think the handkerchief is pushing it. Mayaka and Kaho have to sit down and make up theory episode-19 style to figure that out. The last two seems reasonable though.

By Commie's release, Houtarou's fortune read "The rice strive towards the heavens before the birds pick at it and the wind carries off its traces. Let this be a warning your luck may not last." I'm certainly not the only one to read that mean he should hurry up and tie some knots, right? (Or he should untie it ).

Nah, I like a slow-but-steady progress in relationship type of story. I hope they keep this up.

I thought it was pretty curious that Chitanda said that they couldn't call out for help, because the people in charge of the shrine 'recognize' her. Shouldn't that be a point in her favor, ie the shrine priests and mikos would go "I'm sure Chitanda wouldn't do anything lewd with that Oreki boy, she's a pure innocent angel!"? Or maybe it means that Chitanda hooks up with random guys all the time, and that if anyone caught her alone with Oreki, they would assume she was just babymaking like usual? Kini narimasu.

It has to do with asian culture of a family of high status. Chitanda was representing her family at this festival, so any of her conduct is a reflection upon her family and their honor. If she is in a dark shack with an unknown guy around her age, rumors can spread of her "lewd" conduct, which in turn will bring shame to her family. They would not believe anything that could be a reasonable explaination, and will assume that they were doing some hanky panky and that Chitanda is a "loose" girl.

Hence, you hear Oreki think about how rich families have their own concerns that he doesn't have to deal with.

I thought it was 21+OVA as well, until I got corrected by duckroll and ultimatemegax over on twitter and apparently the series is in fact 22 episodes + OVA. According to them, the reason of confusion is due to tvk announcing that they would be airing 21 episodes early on, and no one corrected the numbers since then over at MAL and the other sites.

The question now is whether the 22nd episode will be airing as usual or if it's stopping on 21.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thundrakkon

It has to do with asian culture of a family of high status. Chitanda was representing her family at this festival, so any of her conduct is a reflection upon her family and their honor. If she is in a dark shack with an unknown guy around her age, rumors can spread of her "lewd" conduct, which in turn will bring shame to her family. They would not believe anything that could be a reasonable explaination, and will assume that they were doing some hanky panky and that Chitanda is a "loose" girl.

Pretty much this, but there was a bigger risk. Remember back when Oreki had figured out that Tohgaito was actually smoking early on in the series (episode 3 wasn't it?) and used that fact to blackmail him into giving them the anthologies. So the fact that the shrine staff knew Eru was might have ended up back firing horribly on her, since someone, knowing how rich she and her family is, might get the idea to use it against her (make it seem worse than it actually is) or even against her family ...

So there was an actual risk that the person who opens the shed might have held it as leverage against her, and even if they don't there is still the possibility that it could be misunderstood (''Why were you there with a boy in the first place? Helping out? I don't buy it ...'') and ending up as a possible scandal, as you pointed out.

(Mind you, I think Dr. Casey was half joking anyways, with the whole ''hooking up with boys in the shed all the time'' (I mean come on, no boy would stay around Eru for that long with trying to escape for his life, or her losing interest in them cause they won't be able to answer ever single mundane question she brings up :P)).

I liked how this episode and the last has really developed the Oreki/Chitanda relationship a lot. It's only with this episode and the last one that I'm starting to get a sense that Oreki truly respects Chitanda, and her feelings and opinions on things. Oreki's treatment of Chitanda in this episode was downright gentlemanly in fact, definitely a different (and welcomed) side of his character given his typically brusque treatment of her.

Chitanda, for her part, displayed a keener awareness of her own feminine strengths than what is typically the case. Like Anh_Minh wrote, she's attractive in a kimono, knows it, and uses it. That's a step up in shrewdness and self-awareness from where Chitanda appeared to be back in the cultural festival arc. And Chitanda truly was lovely in her kimono.

So in this episode we see how Oreki and Chitanda have both come a long way from where they were at the beginning of the anime, and that's rewarding to see.

This week's "mystery" had a neat twist on it as it involved a more practical and immediate concern than one of sheer (and somewhat detached) intellectual curiosity. Oreki and Chitanda were truly caught in an awful mess, and had to figure a way out. I liked the solution that was eventually arrived at, and how it enabled both Mayaka and Satoshi to play important roles in this week's episode.

Hyouka has been a pretty good anime show, overall. I think it's done well with its mystery genre/premise, and that it's also done very well in fully fleshing out and gradually developing its main cast. Hyouka also has had very some good and memorable supporting cast characters (most notably Irisu, imo).

Should Hyouka finish well, it'll definitely go down as one of the top anime shows of 2012, imo. Of currently airing shows, I like Tari Tari a bit more, but Hyouka is a close second or third.

Oreki & Chitanda on New Year date?
She really looked nice in traditional clothes.
It was nice seeing Oreki clueless for once, even if it was short.
Getting locked in a shed was kinda silly.
That Oreki sure is full of interesting and useful ideas.

then... this date arc is getting better in every episode...
Oreki's expression is changed a lot when Chitanda mentions kimono... xD
he's like... lagging when he saw Chitanda wearing kimono...

Oreki is wasting all of his chances... sigh...
even though Chitanda already offer to give her obi's string... lol

it's frustating when they already give so many clues and Mayaka-Fukube don't realize it at all
luckily, Oreki's hermit crab lifestyle save him today... Fukube and Oreki's expression at the end is priceless...

for next episode, although I'm expecting 'flu arc' because one of them should caught cold for being locked, I'm still okay with Valentine's episode... bring it on!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

If I were Satoshi I would have opened the door, toss in their coats, and close it again

And maybe come back after an hour or so

Still, was it too much to ask for them to huddle together for warmth? I'll bet that's the first fanart we'll see of this episode.

I agree with this... lol...

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Why does Mayaka aways seem angry at Oreki like she has some past grudge against him?

I think it's because she has long held a series of low-level grudges against him. My guess is that his long-time lazy attitude has always pissed her off. And also maybe he once told her she'd never make it with Satoshi. Also, he can be close to Satoshi but she can never quite get there. Things like that. He's just annoying.

Anyway, another great episode. So much emotional subtlety in the human moments. I was waiting for him to say he liked the kimono...never did. I was waiting for them to huddle for warmth...never did. But the vibes between them continue to sparkle.

The characters just get more and more presence for me. Their voices, especially. Great work all round. And I think the shrine maiden character will show up again. Played by Hayami Saori, who is really beginning to come into her own as a seiyuu.

Chitanda, for her part, displayed a keener awareness of her own feminine strengths than what is typically the case. Like Anh_Minh wrote, she's attractive in a kimono, knows it, and uses it. That's a step up in shrewdness and self-awareness from where Chitanda appeared to be back in the cultural festival arc. And Chitanda truly was lovely in her kimono.

I though Kaho was pretty cute when she teased Oreki. I also wonder what Satoshi meant when he said he can't handle her.

I suspect Kaho is actually quite a mischief, but hides it well under a mask of "nobility". A... friendly Loki so to speak.

Eru's behaviour reminded me of the saying that the more innocent you raise a child, the wilder the inner animal will be. Between the bath-house comments, this episode, and what-not, girl is practically begging to glomp (and much more) Houtarou already.

What, do you think the thing about keeping from calling out was her way of telling him they were alone in a shed, and that there was nothing she could do if he decided to get more physical, and wasn't it very cold in there?

I suspect Kaho is actually quite a mischief, but hides it well under a mask of "nobility". A... friendly Loki so to speak.

Eru's behaviour reminded me of the saying that the more innocent you raise a child, the wilder the inner animal will be. Between the bath-house comments, this episode, and what-not, girl is practically begging to glomp (and much more) Houtarou already.

Cheers.

Yeah she definitely had her mind the gutter I don't think anyone would say much about being trapped inside a shed by accident. I think trying to hide it and cover it up is even more suspicious

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

I think it's because she has long held a series of low-level grudges against him. My guess is that his long-time lazy attitude has always pissed her off. And also maybe he once told her she'd never make it with Satoshi. Also, he can be close to Satoshi but she can never quite get there. Things like that. He's just annoying.

Anyway, another great episode. So much emotional subtlety in the human moments. I was waiting for him to say he liked the kimono...never did. I was waiting for them to huddle for warmth...never did. But the vibes between them continue to sparkle.

The characters just get more and more presence for me. Their voices, especially. Great work all round. And I think the shrine maiden character will show up again. Played by Hayami Saori, who is really beginning to come into her own as a seiyuu.

I wonder if she asked him if she was Satoshi's type and he was the bearer of bad news that she wasn't but I am guessing Oreki was involved somehow when she got friend zoned.